Thunder enters postseason riding goalie's hot hand

STOCKTON - There will be no need for introductions when the Stockton Thunder and Las Vegas Wranglers meet in the first round of the ECHL National Conference playoffs.

Scott Linesburgh

STOCKTON - There will be no need for introductions when the Stockton Thunder and Las Vegas Wranglers meet in the first round of the ECHL National Conference playoffs.

The teams already have played eight times, the coaches are best friends and three Las Vegas players were once members of the Thunder. Familiarity is likely to breed competitiveness when the best-of-seven series begins 7:30 p.m. today at Stockton Arena.

The fourth-seeded Thunder (37-26-9) enters the postseason having won four in a row and seven of 11, and is confident it has the roster, led by red-hot goalie Olivier Roy, to make a run deep in the playoffs. First up is No. 5 Las Vegas (37-30-5), and all indications are that this will be a tight series. The Thunder and Wranglers split the eight games, and all but one were decided by one goal.

"It just seems like it's going to be a good matchup, and a close one," Thunder coach Matt Thomas said. "It's going to be a tough series for us to win, for sure."

Thomas and Wranglers coach Ryan Mougenel have known each other for more than a decade. Thomas was an assistant coach and Mougenel was a player with the Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies when they won the Kelly Cup in 2002. Mougenel was an assistant to Thomas for four seasons in Fresno and Stockton before becoming head coach of the Wranglers in 2009.

It's the first time they will meet in the playoffs.

"I don't think it's very fun because I don't want to lose to him," Thomas said with a smile. "We know it's part of the business. It will be exciting for both of us to go after one another and try to see who comes out on top. Put it this way - I'm working extra hard."

Mougenel, who led the Wranglers to the Kelly Cup finals last season, also has mixed feelings.

"It's unfortunate that one of us has to lose," Mougenel said. "We're obviously close and our families are very close, but at the end of the day both want to win."

Forwards Judd Blackwater, Geoff Paukovich and Adam Huxley played for Stockton before going to Las Vegas. Huxley was a fan favorite during his Thunder tenure.

"There are players who used to be here, and their coach used to coach here. It's going to be an exciting series," Thunder captain Garet Hunt said.

The Thunder's late-season good fortune can be directly tied to the return of Roy in March from his American Hockey League assignment. He has won four of five games, allowing just six goals during that span. Roy credits the defense in front of him, but his teammates are very confident with him in the net.

"He's been playing excellent. Our defense has been really stepping up and shutting guys down, stopping a lot of shots, protecting the house more," Hunt said. "We've really been taking a lot of pride in that in the last couple of weeks going into playoffs."

Roy is backed up by Tyler Bunz, who had a solid season. The Wranglers counter at goalie with veteran Joe Fallon and Mitch O'Keefe, and have a balanced offense led by Andrew Sarauer (21 goals, 41 assists). Center Harrison Reed led Stockton in scoring (21 goals and 24 assists in 45 games).